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Many of us in the PR/Communications business spend our days focusing on our work with local media. While we may dream of it, rarely do we imagine our news being picked up and shared by global media. But maybe it's OK to dream big in this constantly changing media landscape.

To find out, Business Wire Hong Kong invited two renowned journalists from the Associated Press and CNBC International to speak to a sold out and inquisitive audience at The Hub in Wan Chai. Kelvin Chan, a business reporter and correspondent for the Associated Press, and Ted Kemp, Managing Editor - Digital of CNBC International, spent the better part of two hours exploring a myriad of subjects from pitch preferences to virtual reality to fake news to what their media organizations have planned for the future.

Ted Kemp of CNBC International speaks to sold out Hong Kong media event crowd

Both journalists have been working for their respective media outlets for 11 years and have worked in the journalism industry almost their entire careers. After starting as a copy editor for the Globe and Mail in Canada, Kelvin Chan has been covering Asia for more than a decade working for Bloomberg, South China Morning Post, and the Associated Press. Ted Kemp just moved to Singapore to serve as managing editor, Digital of CNBC International. Prior to that, he served as CNBC's Editorial Manager in London and was the Senior Editor, Markets and Finance in the United States.

Kelvin Chan of the Associated Press

All of the topics discussed were immensely interesting for a host of reasons. Some of the highlights:

Kelvin Chan

The Associated Press has 10 regional editing hubs around the world and Bangkok is the hub for Asia. There are six reporters in the region that cover business and finance news and Kelvin is one of them.

Kelvin uses Twitter quite frequently as he finds it to be the most useful social tool due to its immediate and updating nature. He noted that the AP’s official Twitter account has lists of their journalists by the stories they cover. He thinks Twitter is especially useful for PR professionals to find appropriate journalists to pitch.

Photos and videos are a big part of their business and one new thing for them is 360-degree videos and VR. You can see their visual activities on their YouTube channel and Kelvin takes part in producing the content.

Ted Kemp

CNBC International is the number one business and financial news network worldwide, with content consumed by 282 million people with a global audience of almost 42 million unique users every month on CNBC’s digital platforms.In Asia, their TV channel reaches 15 million affluent consumers every month and the viewers tend to spend more time watching CNBC than any other international news channel. Their regional HQ in Asia is Singapore where Ted is based.

What Ted is drilling into his team in Europe and Asia for news decision-making is, “Do we have the whole story?” He thinks there’s very little media that is giving thought to this even though he sees, globally, that more people have the sense that their lives are been directly impacted by transnational issues and they want to understand the underlying dynamics of it.

What they are closely watching: Geopolitics (China from good/bad/uncertain perspectives, North Korea threat); cryptocurrencies (bitcoin, ethereum etc.); technology (big news such as AI, or big public company news); energy; and new content that they’ve launched, ‘Make IT’ content … which is content that attracts younger demographics (successful stories of entrepreneurs etc.).

Regarding the credibility of news as counterpart of today's buzz word "fake news. Ted mentioned they confirm with multiple resources and Kelvin introduced their AP FACT CHECK that they use to investigate dubious claims about (mainly) political subjects.

Both Ted and Kelvin also discussed their interactions with the Public Relations industry and spoke about ways PR people can have the global media to pay attention to the press releases ... and how things could be made better. Kelvin advised to avoid too much jargon in the headline and try to tell exactly what's going on with a story with an informative subject line (for email pitches). Ted's advice for PR professionals was that they get to know the individual reporters to whom they wish to pitch using social media like Twitter and LinkedIn. He also stressed that the news that is sent to the reporters be appropriate to the subjects they cover.

Fall just started recently, but I can't stop thinking about ... Holiday Story Time. I love the holiday news cycle. Every year I look forward to pictures of kittens in silly outfits, outlandish gift guides, intriguing cocktail recipes, and crazy predictions by Futurists. When you’re in PR, the holiday season starts early with long-lead publication deadline dates and doesn’t stop until the final “last-minute gift ideas” blog posts published in late December.

We’re a natural fit for holiday news – our weekly holiday recap news distributions kick off November 10 and run through the end of December. The recaps provide companies a second round of visibility for their news, and give reporters an easy-to-follow list of options to write about. If you’re looking to activate reporters to cover your holiday news, NOW is the time to write your holiday stories.

Top Holiday Story Ideas

Black Friday:

Store hours, discounts, and promotions

New products and services

Special accommodations for employees to help them survive Black Friday (onsite massages, yoga classes, or meditation opportunities)

Tips on a successful shopping plan of attack

Success stories, sales figures

Cyber Monday news:

Last-minute offers lined up for Cyber Monday

Predictions for the holiday shopping season

Information on Cyber Security

Success stories, sales figures

Corporate Social Responsibility

Company-sponsored charity events

Charitable giving programs and results

Toy or food drives and drop off locations

Stories of employees in the field volunteering for a company-sponsored charity

Holiday gift news:

Gift guides! Use Business Wire’s customized distribution options to promote gifts by age and demographic. I have a 73-year-old mother and a 92-year-old grandmother. How about a gift guide with ideas for aging parents and grandparents?

Holiday food stories:

Holiday recipes

Special menus at restaurants

Holiday cocktail recipes

Seasonal product offerings

Holiday cooking classes by local chefs

Holiday travel stories:

Last-minute holiday trip packages

Tips and tricks on travel with young children or pets

Ideas on celebrating the holidays away from home

Late December ideas:

Economic predictions for the New Year

Weight loss product launches

New Year resolution stories with customer testimonials

Predictions by futurists

To truly tell your holiday story, you will need to write a multimedia rich news release – this means you will want to include a photo, infographic or video showcasing your offer. Reporters need your multimedia content to create a compelling story. Humans are visual learners. They retain 65% of what they learn when a visual is added. Make it easy for reporters to tell a compelling story by adding photos, videos, and infographics.

And don’t forget to leverage the reach of others! Social influencers can act as sales associates for you. Work with them to create custom content or give them your assets to drive higher engagement and ROI. Give them easy content to use including infographics, PDFs, and Customer Testimonials. Include videos but keep them short. According to Vidyard’s 2017 Video in Business Benchmark report, a video less than 90 seconds in length sees an average retention at the end of 53%.

Once your holiday season is over it will be time to measure the success of your work. Utilize the data Business Wire provides including metrics on volume, sentiment, influencers, geographic location, and virality. These reports provide instant access to a wide range of metrics you can use to extend your outreach or highlight your PR program’s results to your management team, ensuring you, and they, have a very happy holiday season.

The holiday season is here! Are you ready? I, for one, can’t wait to read your news!

When Business Wire’s Florida team had the innovative idea to host a baseball themed media luncheon, they didn’t know just how effective the exercise would be for all those in attendance. At the event, “Playing Ball with the Media,” communications pros were matched with journalists and asked to “pitch” their stories.

Assemble several tables in a room, each featuring one journalist matched with several comm pros.

Each communicator has one minute to pitch their story with their matched journalist and receive feedback.

After each ten minute round, the journalists switch tables in order to hear what every table has to pitch.

After the final round, the journalists vote on the best three pitches and share why they were selected.

A special award and trophy are presented to the three winners. The awards are: Cy Young (for the best pitcher), MVP (for the best overall player), and the Delivery Man award (for the best closer).

It’s as simple as that but don’t be dissuaded, the educational value from this game will help bolster the impact of any issued news. Not only does it help communicators sharpen their pitching skills, it helps them better understand how to frame a story to pique the interest of targeted media. Start planning your own “Playing Ball with the Media” event and see the results yourself.

Find out what journalists have to say by downloading Media Matchmaker, a blueprint for how and when to best reach members of the media based on the survey results of over 600 journalists in more than 40 countries.

SXSW PanelPicker allows users to propose which panels they’d like to see take place at the upcoming SXSW conference. Always at the technological forefront, and keeping a strong connection with the audience that helped transform what the conference/festival is today, SXSW continues to place the keys to the kingdom in the public’s hands. Business Wire is proud to announce that two of our very own thought leaders have organized creative, and unique, panels that all communicators can benefit from and now’s your chance to vote them in and make them a reality.

About the panel: First, you were told to write for robots. Now, robots are doing the writing for you. What are these robots looking for in a news story? What do you need to know to protect your brand and job when robots and algorithms are shaping your company’s image? Leading reporters and experts on news automation and A/B testing discuss their impact on the future of the PR/journalist relationship. We’ll also tackle how both sides, are harnessing this technology to feed seemingly insatiable news appetites.

Raschanda Hall, Business Wire’s director of global media relations, has spent 16 years as a leading part of the media relations team. She sets the direction for the brand’s global media relations through the fast-paced, changing media landscape by utilizing her understanding of emerging technology and her pioneering social media presence. Additionally, she serves as the president of the Chicago chapter of Black Public Relations Society.

About the panel: Communications today is messy. Today's reporters and PR pros have a wide range of tools at their fingertips that drive ROI, so why are so few actually using them? Which tools are worth using? In this session, we will look at the technologies - from A/B testing to interactive multimedia to chatbots to analytics - available to brand or media communicators today to create and amplify the type of news and content that deepens bonds between their audiences and their organization.

Serena Ehrlich, Business Wire’s director of social and evolving media, provides guidance for internal and external content creation and distribution services, ranging from PR programming to mobile marketing to social media updates. Over the last 25 years, Ehrlich has worked to provide guidance on investor relations, public relations and overall consumer behavior relations trends.

Register with SXSW PanelPicker and become a part of the experience. Voting ends on Friday, August 25th so make sure to get your choices in before then.

The digital revolution has brought upon a whole new world of platforms and analytics. Although it can get confusing when scrolling down a long list of numbers, it’s important to pay attention because some of those numbers can help amplify your social marketing efforts. The key is knowing which metrics matter most.

When asked why measurement matters in social marketing, Serena described the qualities that make social platforms unique and offered a glimpse into just how jarring the digital revolution is when compared to previous tech used for communications. She explained that “the ability to access such granular data so quickly, combined with the real-time nature of social discussions, means you can modify your programming instantly when the data suggests you need to pivot.”

The term clip counting is a relic of the past and results are expected instantaneously today, and the reason is because everything moves so quickly. Nowhere is this more evident than on social media platforms. Find out how to maximize efforts on social media by utilizing the right measurements.

The statement that PR pros are just not paid enough is sure to get any communicator’s attention, and it made quite the impact as the phrase that started off the recent webinar Monitor, Measure, Evaluate, Evolve. The webinar was hosted by Business Wire’s own director of social and evolving media, Serena Ehrlich, and it focused on the role data must play in order for today’s PR professionals to be truly successful in what they do.

In 2017, PR is no longer about relying on one’s gut. You must use data to truly showcase the value of PR and to get PR to be taken seriously within your organization. The data gleaned from companies like Agility PR Solutions creates a roadmap for content – from creation to launch to follow up. By utilizing internal and external data, PR pros can create content that resonates with their desired audiences and generates more coverage pieces. They can then provide senior management with detailed information on how each program impacts the organization’s overall business goals. By using data, PR pros can now demonstrate the true value of PR.

Learn more about the role of data in today’s public relations programming (including how to do it!) by reading Cara Valle’s recap of what Serena had to say, or watch the full webinar here. Click here to learn more about Business Wire’s NewsTrak reports or here to learn how Agility PR Solutions can create a successful data program for your organization.

On Thursday, July 20, the Business Wire Florida team hosted a successful media luncheon titled “Playing Ball with the Media.” This event brought together a group of “pitchers” and “catchers” to play ball at the Newman Alumni Center in the University of Miami. At each table there was one catcher, a journalist, matched with several pitchers, PR agencies and private companies, who had the opportunity to throw their best news pitches.

The format for this event went as follows: all of the comm pros had one minute to share their pitches and receive feedback from their matched journalist. After each 10 minute round, the buzzer rang and the journalists then switched tables, giving them the oppurtunity to hear what every table had to pitch.

After the final round, the journalists voted on the three best pitches and shared why they were chosen. Each of the winners were presented with a special award and trophy. The awards handed out were “Cy Young” (best pitcher), “MVP” (best overall player) and the “Delivery Man” (the closer). Congratulations to these 3 winners: “Cy Young” - Joanna Palmer, Public Relations & Communications Executive at Gastro Health; “MVP” - Isabelle Pike, Development Director at Branches; and “Delivery Man” - Juan Diasgranados, Public Affairs Manager at Miami-Dade Corrections & Rehabilitation. The event ended with each award winner sharing their winning pitch with the audience.

Overall the event was a great opportunity for both the journalists and participating attendees. Journalist, Terence Shepherd expressed that this event was a way to put a face behind the pitch and said, “An email is too easy to ignore, but you always remember the face.” The other “Catchers” said some news stories may come out of the pitches they received.

The smartphone is our connection to the world. 51% of consumers are getting their news from their mobile device and the trend is going upwards. We hop from one site to an app, and from one social media platform to the next. Our eyes scan thousands of pieces of information and we only stop when an image is appealing or when the news is pertinent.

Tech innovation goes so fast that Facebook Live and Google News Lab have dedicated training centers for journalists, bloggers, and influencers.

What does it say? First, that journalists must today master editorial and technology techniques, social media specifics and creativity. Secondly, that they must constantly train to acquire new competences matching the pace of digital evolution.

For PR professionals the takeaway is this: if journalistic practices are changing, it is obvious that the news release has to change as well.

Mobile = Visual

Multimedia is not an option anymore. It is the entry door to visibility and engagement. With Business Wire, images and other multimedia included with a release are sent to photography press agencies and are posted on many news sites and social media platforms. They are available for journalists and other news consumers to download in a hi-res format. If you look at a news feed (AFP, AP…) on a mobile app, news with multimedia is news that gets the most attention.

PR professionals must accept these transformations if they want their information to perform. We now live in a digital era and crafting a news release requires new adjustments. Forget the old habits! Here are a few tips that may help:

1/ Anticipation is key - Include the press release in your communications strategy. Think about your message, your target, what you are expecting from the release…. Don’t choose your multimedia at the last minute. If you need a headshot of your CEO or a picture of your new product, anticipate to get the best shot. If you are exhibiting at a tradeshow, take pictures of your booth so that they are available for later use. Create a photo library where you can dig in at any time.

2/ Forget the text only release – A NYT report says that 800 words articles don’t do great on the web. And 63% of the world are visual learners, so why are your news releases text-only? Add multimedia because the old adage that an image is worth 1,000 words rings truer than ever in the digital age. And don’t forget to include a detailed caption of your multimedia asset. News release multimedia captions can be 100-words long so take the time to describe what your multimedia asset is trying to convey.

3/ Be creative - Innovate when preparing your news release. Utilize the latest storytelling tools, such as interactive photos and videos. There are numerous shareable multimedia options that will engage journalists and consumers.

4/ Think like a journalist - Present your message in a journalistic format. The media covers stories they deem newsworthy so offer them a story that mirrors their usual content. Give them what they are looking for: visuals and quality content.

5/ Think social media - Write pertinent and quality content; it will drive sharing and engagement. Engagement is a major goal when issuing a news release because it shows that audiences are interested in your message. The question to ask yourself is how to maximize engagement. Choose the community you want to reach and craft messages adapted to its members.

Like journalists, you should master the popular social media platforms and know exactly which one is the most appropriate for the type of message you want to deliver.

6/ Searchability - Journalists love Google when researching data and info to write an article. To make sure your press release comes on top of searches, it needs to be written for optimization. The first 5-7 words of your news release headline becomes your URL string. These words must be carefully chosen. Click here to learn how to write a headline Google will love. And don’t forget to include multimedia and captions. The distribution process by your news service provider (Business Wire for example) will post your news release on multiple sites on the web and facilitates its archive on the Internet. News release optimization and distribution by an experienced partner will ensure your news release is easily found across the web.

7/ Headlines and Sub-Headlines – Your headline can be as long or as short as you would like, but they should include all the information a reporter needs to see to open your news story. Most editorial systems showcase the first 55 characters of your headline while search engines will show up to 70 characters. This means you have between 8-15 words in your headline to entice your readers into opening your release. Since sub-headlines are not seen until the news release is open, be sure to include the impact of your news on your desired audience in your headline.

Business Wire, in collaboration with PRSA-Detroit and IABC-Detroit, hosted a panel discussion with executives from the city’s three major networks to provide PR professionals insight into their world and how it has changed. We learned more about what catches their eye for not only the 6 o’clock news but news that starts as early as 4:30 a.m. for some morning shows all the way to the traditional 11 o’clock telecast.

Once upon a time, to announce big news, you either issued a press release or held a press conference. Subsequent front page news and broadcast coverage meant PR success. Today, those are just two tools used to get the news out and by no means do they stand alone. There is pitching, tweeting and blogging to follow up a press release or press conference for coverage in print, online, TV, radio and across social networks with rich media to further enhance the story.

Despite all of these channels to get the news out as well as for coverage, there remains a strong desire to have your story told on the evening news. And today, broadcast coverage may also extend its reach online with video and via social channels. You see, broadcast, too has re-invented itself to remain relevant and capture the attention of its viewers wherever they are.

While Fox 2 Detroit averages 70 hours of news a week, there is much competition for those time slots. The WDIV Channel 4 NBC affiliate executive indicated her email blows up each morning between 5:55 and 6:15 with an average of 25 pitches hoping to get first in line for potential broadcast coverage. So how do PR professionals get a step up?

Here are just some of the takeaways from the Detroit-area Business Wire-led panel discussion with:

Make your press release impactful in the headline and lead to garner interest. With the multitude TV stations receive daily, they may not read beyond the headline so put your best foot forward as quickly as possible. All three network execs indicated they are looking at press releases for potential coverage.

Broadcasters realize PR professionals/companies may be pitching the same story to all three networks; whenever possible, deliver a slightly different pitch or offer up a different spokesperson. Keep in mind that the TV stations are also competing for viewers and a different angle or brand-messenger can make a difference in coverage on multiple networks. And if the story is engaging, it may be syndicated across network affiliates and shared via the station’s social channels or on their web page. What they share on their websites and across affiliate stations is selective. TV stations too are looking for ways to attract younger viewers and those on the go. Take a step back and look at the broader appeal of the story you are pitching. With this in mind, the reach of the story can extend exponentially across the country and channels.

When assessing the value of a story, consideration is given to those that are consumer-friendly and still maintain the integrity of the show – meaning, don’t be overly promotional. As PR professionals we do follow the Cheers mantra and want “everyone to know our name,” but it’s a fine line that will factor into whether or not the story is deemed newsworthy.

Newswires have a long tradition of fulfilling an industry need for the dissemination of market moving information to a wide range of news organizations and other stakeholders. Trends and technical advancements have influenced how news is both distributed and consumed.

The stability, credibility and widespread usage of newswire distribution networks are a primary reason why communications professionals view them as the backbone of the news dissemination process.

With over 50 years of industry leadership, Business Wire has established irrefutable trust from within the news market and has proven its thorough understanding of the needs of the digital age by creating a technologically sophisticated, patented distribution network. This trust and innovation have made Business Wire the launching pad for turning company news releases into credible breaking news.

TRUSTED SOURCE

The credibility and tradition of trust earned from journalists and other downstream consumers of Business Wire content enables companies of all sizes to confidently submit press releases for distribution across the wire. Within its 22 local newsrooms around the world, Business Wire employs experienced and knowledgeable editorial teams who review this content to confirm legitimacy and accuracy. This process of vetting news content is a key feature of Business Wire’s value proposition and results in the unquestioned reliance on our service by leading journalists and investors who act upon the breaking news we deliver.

Business Wire has spent over 50 years building symbiotic relationships with media, investors and consumers by regularly delivering factually reliable and timely corporate news content.

REACH

A comprehensive global distribution system and the hard-earned trust of media and investors results in Business Wire being able to provide broad reach and visibility to its members. In addition to direct distribution of releases to the news systems and mobile apps of publications large and small on a global scale, corporate announcements are disseminated across a platform in which all relevant potential audiences have access to the information. Pushed to media and investors, and SEO friendly on the web, virtually anyone can easily find Business Wire content and move on it, from reporter to consumer, from investor to blogger. Further, all information is distributed in full text, ensuring full disclosure of all the information an issuer wishes to convey. It is also simultaneously transmitted to all end users over a private, encrypted network that guarantees that it is visible and not trapped by spam filters.

Business Wire has partnerships with 60 national and international news agencies facilitating reach to more than 89,000 media outlets in 162 countries. Industry professionals recognize our benefits as exemplified by the 92,000+ journalists who subscribe to our PressPass service, offering convenient and customized news feeds. We also offer more than 1,676 delivery options in more than 50 local languages that reach specified geographic markets and offer a choice of nearly 200 industry trade categories at no additional charge.

VISIBILITY

Every day companies spend significant dollars creating a broad array of content designed to establish credibility among, and deliver key messaging to, their constituencies. In each case, the success of these programs is tied directly to their visibility.

The more promotion content receives, the more likely it is that the target audience will see and act upon it. Rather than simply promoting the content via owned channels or social advertising and platforms, which can limit visibility, utilizing a newswire can enhance visibility, coverage and engagement and drive the traffic needed to make the program achieve its objectives.

With Business Wire distribution, news is disseminated across major global platforms including AP, AFP, Bloomberg, ThomsonReuters and Yahoo! Finance, with dual-platform posting to BusinessWire.com and EnhancedOnlineNews.com. Your press release also includes interactive hyperlinks and social sharing links to help drive engagement and content sharing, improving performance in search. The goal is to create the kind of visibility that will lead to user activity and engagement.

INNOVATION with BizWireTV

Business Wire created video programming aimed at showcasing not only the importance and impact press releases still hold, but the growing need for their use as a legitimate form of messaging in the wild-west age of internet platforms. Each news release that crosses our wire triggers activity across the web, views, shares, social engagement, mentions and more specifically, sentiment. This data serves as the solution to how Business Wire will revolutionize the industry. The video programming that serves as the solution, BizWireTV, takes the traditional press release and evolves how the message held within reaches audiences around the world.

In partnership with Al Roker Entertainment, Business Wire’s BizWireTV spotlights stories on disruptive startups and technologies, entrepreneurs and funding announcements, hot business trends and companies to watch. A core component of the video programming is news-related data analysis powered by Business Wire’s NewsTrak reports and NUVI social media tracking. Business Wire has access to a lot of information. We know how often each release is read, how images and videos perform and how the social media universe is reacting to, commenting on and sharing news stories. Using that information as our guide, we turn rich stories and deep data that we have access to into video news show tailored for digital platforms. This data and social engagement metrics help identify trending stories. Video footage is then incorporated to help share stories in an innovative way. The goal is to deliver it all with a true news spirit that leaves the viewer feeling smarter, better informed about upcoming economic or industry developments and ready to share it with others interested in staying informed.

With over 5,600,000 video views on BusinessWire.com, 1,400,000 views on Facebook and Twitter, 1,000,000 views of news releases announcing new episodes, and 26,000 social media mentions reaching over 25MM followers, BizWireTV has gone far and above all expectations of popularity.

SECURITY

Business Wire’s patented, simultaneous NX worldwide network ensures that news is distributed to every outlet at the same time and in a highly secure manner. In fact, security is Business Wire’s number one priority. As such, Business Wire is currently the only newswire service to have received the Service Organization Control [SOC] 2 Type II attestation engagement report, providing independent validation that the company’s internal security controls are in accordance with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ applicable Trust Services Principles and Criteria.

LONGEVITY

One sure way to maintain visibility is to also ensure longevity.

The online archiving of news releases by newswires ensure that news can easily be discovered by interested parties by searching company names, ticker symbols or key phrases. Such archiving of information guarantees that news is visible and available for reference long after its initial release. Business Wire’s distribution includes full-text posting to thousands of websites and financial databases, such as Factiva and Lexis-Nexis, which archive news over a long period of time, increasing the discoverability of issuers’ news to researchers.

DISCLOSURE

As a result of Regulation Fair Disclosure, it is key for today’s public companies to simultaneously disseminate their market moving news to as wide of an audience as possible. It is important to allow analysts, reporters and interested consumers to find company news, and act upon it, as quickly as possible, with no unfair advantage given to any one party.

Business Wire’s simultaneous disclosure network, included in every US geographic wire circuit distribution, simultaneously reaches all key disclosure media including the Associated Press, Bloomberg, Dow Jones, Reuters, Investor’s Business Daily, Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, as well as full-text posting to financial databases, such as Factiva and Lexis-Nexis.

A newswire is a trusted method to meet Regulation Fair Disclosure, which ensures all interested parties have access to your news and financial data at the same time. While the SEC has amended its guidance on disclosure to include social channels under certain circumstances, in reality, social channels were not designed or positioned to be disclosure vehicles. Twitter, Facebook and other services modify the visibility of all content to maximize their own advertising revenues. As such, the vast majority of public issuers utilize newswires to ensure broad and simultaneous reach to the investing public.

PUBLIC DEMAND

News consumption is at an all-time high and recent studies show that potential purchasers are spending more time online researching products and services before ever contacting the company directly. Using a newswire helps ensure that news is easily found in the research phase of the buying cycle. The existing interest from potential purchasers coupled with the high visibility provided by a newswire distribution, positions information to both be seen and acted upon in a timely and efficient manner. The news is available in full text as the issuer intended, providing an additional layer of certainty that the consumer has access to full, unfiltered information.

According to a media survey conducted by Business Wire in 2016, 53% of the responding journalists use a newswire service daily. Newswires are a vital utility in the news industry and as a result of Business Wire’s veracity and innovative practices, media professionals routinely rely upon our service.

Business Wire has spent over 5 decades deeply rooted in the news industry and recognizes that a new age has arrived. It is with optimism and enthusiasm that we embrace this new digital age and we look forward to building on our foundation of innovation in order to continue to provide the media, the investment community and the public with a comprehensive, transparent and irreplaceable mechanism for distributing vital corporate news.

With the announcement that industry giants Business Wire and Agility PR Solutions are partnering comes the question of what benefits will clients and partners see regarding the amplification of their news. Business Wire clients have specific needs that are wide ranging. Currently, they have access to a wide set of communications tools, and now that toolset expands even more. This new partnership offers clients a seamless and cost-effective solution to integrate media outreach and multi-outlet monitoring into their communications campaigns.

With the strategic partnership of Agility PR Solutions and Business Wire, customers can:

Identify Influencers: Search the AgilityTMmedia database of almost 800,000 verified contacts in over 200 countries and create and save custom lists. Additional information, including how journalists like to be pitched and what they cover, will help Business Wire clients strategically target the press and follow up on news stories crossing the wire.

Amplify Messages: Augment Business Wire’s services with personalized outreach to key influencers, with Agility’s integrated email sending and engagement tracking tools. Quickly identify contacts for follow up by seeing who opened or clicked on emails.

Monitor Coverage: Business Wire’s new relationship with Agility PR Solutions provides a breadth of self-service and full service media monitoring capabilities. Track trending topics, customer sentiment, share of voice, competitors and social media activity.

Measure Impact: Clients can evaluate the success of communications efforts with integrated reporting capabilities and gain actionable insights into the effectiveness of their communication efforts with pre-made or custom reports.

The reasons behind the new partnership, and its goals, are simple: to provide communications professionals with enhanced distribution, monitoring and media analytics capabilities. Additionally, a critical component of this new relationship is both Business Wire’s and Agility PR Solutions’ commitment to providing exceptional customer support and service. Communications tools are most effective when used to their maximum potential. Both Business Wire and Agility PR Solutions make it a priority to assist clients and partners in understanding each tool and how these tools can best be implemented into a communications campaign.

The new strategic relationship between Business Wire and Agility PR Solutions is effective immediately and is designed to help customers as they build and create their communications strategies in 2017 and beyond.

This article details exactly what content should populate a press release and where it should be found within the release. Use the following as a template and make sure to amplify its message through the use of a commercial newswire such as Business Wire.

It's important to remember that while subheadlines are terrific for outlining your news release’s key points, they are not seen by the reader until the news release is clicked on. Make sure your news release headline showcases the full impact of your news to increase the open rates and usage of your release.

Create an Intriguing Headline That Lets the Reader Know What the Release is About

Subheadlines are not seen by readers until the news release is opened so include all pertinent information in the headline

CITY, STATE (or CITY, COUNTRY) – Start the release by stating the brand making the announcement and the news being announced. Make sure to include hyperlinks to all official websites. Journalists rake through countless emails every day so it’s important to fill them in on the newsworthy content of your announcement right away to let them know if this release fits in with their beat.

Explain the industry effected by the announcement and what the targeted audience can expect from this news.

“Include a quote that highlights the benefits of this announcement for the brand’s targeted audience and what the brand hopes to accomplish,” attribute this quote to a decision maker at the organization who had influence in the news being announced and state their role.

Offer background details about the brand behind the announcement, some recent accomplishments and brief details sourced from the company’s mission statement.

“Include a second quote that goes into more detail about the announcement and what led to it, expected results,” attribute this quote to someone with the brand who intimately knows the details surrounding the announcement.

OR, if the announcement is regarding a partnership:

“Include a quote describing the benefits of this partnership both for the two organizations as well as clients and customers,” attribute this quote to someone from the other brand.

Conclude the release by including final details such as websites, social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and other accounts.

ABOUT THE BRAND

Include a company boilerplate describing the company history and highlights.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Include contact information of someone who will be responsible for handling media inquiries.

This is what a press release should look like and standard lengths range from 500-1000 words. It’s important to also include multimedia such as images and video and a logo that links to the company page. Digital technology has transformed the way people consume news making multimedia an expected asset. Providing a high quality image or video will help amplify your message and impact reach. A press release is news and journalists need to be engaged in order to cover your story so focus on the newsworthy aspects of your announcement. With the right targeting and distribution you’ll be reaching interested parties covering your beat so give them what they’re looking for.

Also make sure to utilize Business Wire's included social media tools as well as selecting applicable hashtags and cash tags.

The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the USC Center for Public Relations at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism have released a new report that offers a candid look at how marketers plan to tackle public relations in the upcoming years.

The most eye-opening data found in the report is that 75% of respondents answered that they plan on increasing PR budgets over the course of the next five years. When it comes to internal PR staffing, 79% said that their numbers would stay the same in the next year with 13% saying they would moderately increase. When the same question was asked but in the timeline of the next five years, 54% said it would moderately increase.

This study exposes just how public relations is evolving and its growing importance within the marketing landscape. A lot of this can be attributed to the digital technological revolution and the speed with which communication now takes place between businesses, clients and the public. The result is a convergence between PR and marketing and a shared use of specific tools aimed at building a bridge with potential clients and customers.

Needless to say, the future of PR looks very bright.

“Digital has put PR front and center, as it allows immediate outbound communication and inbound feedback,” said ANA group executive vice president Bill Duggan.

When asked how PR programs can best demonstrate their value, there was a strong consensus with 89% saying they can achieve measurable business objectives. Industry lines are being blurred and industry leaders are well aware of this phenomenon. The only question now is how far will marketing and PR grow together.

Business Wire and Agility PR Solutions want communications pros to find their perfect media match. After surveying over 600 journalists in more than 40 countries, the results were analyzed and compiled into the Media Matchmaker, a blueprint for how and when to best reach members of the media.

Creating and distributing news is only part of the equation when it comes to amplifying a branded message. It’s the media that delivers your communication to their audiences, audiences that tune in expecting trustworthy content. Media relations is as vital as the news being issued in the first place and for this reason, understanding the habits of journalists and reporters goes a long way in getting your news to its intended target audience. So what kind of information did Business Wire and Agility PR Solutions set out to uncover?

Respondents were asked questions on a wide range of topics including:

Integrating more interactive multimedia online

Press release elements most beneficial to reporters

The role of long form and short form news produced by platforms such as BuzzFeed and The New York Times

Reporters’ increased usage of video

What kind of key findings can communicators find in the blueprint?

79% of surveyed media expect a PR practitioner to know their beat.

No journalist wants to be just another contact on a long media list. The first step to better media outreach is to only contact journalists and reporters whose beat matches the news being forwarded. This would usually involve strenuous research, however, with Agility PR Solutions, filtered lists are compiled based on input criteria. Just let the platform know what kind of journalists you need and in return, expect an accurate media list.

75% of surveyed media use an organization’s online newsroom for research.

The online newsroom, along with Google and an organization’s main website, are the top 3 destinations for research by media. It is vital that content within the online newsroom is updated frequently. Not only does this provide fresh material for reporters, but also helps with search engine optimization. Business Wire’s NewsHQ and InvestorHQ offer direct posting of material news and coupled with Business Wire’s distribution network, provide a secure, safe and efficient way to disseminate regulatory disclosure information.

Business Wire recently had #CommPro Sandra Fathi, president of Affect, stop by and offer some insight into the current and future trends in public relations. An ardent entrepreneur, Sandra has spent the last 20 years helping technology, healthcare and professional services companies achieve their goals.

Communicating in the digital age requires an understanding of today’s rapidly evolving popular platforms. From issuing and amplifying content to tracking the impact of that content, Sandra covers the tools currently in use and how they might change in the years to come. She offers her thoughts on platforms such as Twitter and the recently discontinued Vine, as well as predictions on how users might be engaging with social media in the future.

Fathi covers some of the toughest questions facing today's PR and marketing professionals:

What are some of the tech trends you're seeing that will have the biggest impact?

How do you think social media is going to evolve over the next 5-10 years?

What role do traditional tools of communication such as newswires have today and what role do you feel they will have in the future?

The digital age has dramatically changed content and content marketing - how does that impact communicators?

What will PR look like in 10 years?

Watch the full video and see what Sandra (pictured left) has to say and learn more about Affect.

Earlier this month, six journalists from a variety of Seattle media outlets joined Business Wire for a media speed-dating session. The session allowed attendees the opportunity to engage in small group discussions with journalists and learn more about how the media works; current challenges facing the industry; how journalists like to be pitched; and other useful information about interacting with the press.

Over 70 attendees gathered for the event and all took away many useful tips from these journalists over the course of an hour. Here are some that stand out:

Make sure the news/information you are sending to the press is compelling or interesting. “If you wouldn’t click on it, we won’t either,” said Emily Parkhurst.

Keep it Simple … When it comes to press releases, all Rachel Lerman wants is the 5 Ws (who, what, when, where, and why). Keep it straightforward and full of useful information.

Details matter … Taylor Soper looks at the area codes in email signatures. If you’re pitching local, it helps to have a local area code.

If you’re sending a reporter an email, give them a subject line that lets the reporter know you’re a human being and load the first sentence or two with as much pertinent information as possible. Emily Parkhurst has 20,000 emails in her inbox. Yours better stand out.

Michelle Li says to never forget the morning news programs. Since local stations generally air four to five hours of news in the morning, “You get more bang for your buck since your story is likely to be repeated four or five times,” she said. She also noted that morning news is the only time segment where viewership grows as the broadcast proceeds.

“Don’t make us find multimedia,” pleaded Lauren Foster. “Include headshots/photos and do your homework before you actually make a pitch.”

Look for potential partnerships with new media. Anika Anand says The Evergrey wants to drive subscriber growth and are currently partnering with Brooks Running as part of a referral incentive program. It’s tough out there for new media outlets, so creative partnerships are possible.

Don’t get frustrated if you don’t hear back from a journalist right away. All the journalists acknowledged that due to smaller staffs and greater demands, they are busier than ever. It’s always okay to follow up if you don’t hear back, but do so with the understanding that the journalist is probably being pulled in a thousand different directions.

The following is Part II of Business Wire's article providing insight into the top social media trends for 2017. Access Part I to learn what insight Lashanda Henry, SistaSense and Dr. Erica Taylor Southerland, Ph.D. had to offer.

The key takeaway from Alfred’s presentation was “don’t play yourself.” We live in an era where there are more tools available than ever to build our own brand, but it’s important to be mindful that communicating with audiences is self-representation. Build a brand that represents you, the authentic you. Don’t waste your time creating an image online that does not reflect who you are offline and could possibly alienate your intended audience.

Every status update is a window into how audiences will see you. Brands need to protect their credibility. Every organization has issues and every social media manager needs to know these issues and public perceptions before creating their social program. They should think and verify before tweeting/retweeting, posting, reacting or aligning with a hashtag. Every update should align with the organization’s voice and brand.

Edmond Jr. also discussed best practices of live-video streaming. Live-streaming events, providing exclusive behind the scene’s sneak peeks is one of the best ways to draw in an audience. Use live video to bring your viewers into places where they can’t access themselves. This discussion lead into the concept of “celebrity.” Each industry has their own “celebrities” or “influencer.” Consider exclusive interviews with these thought leaders as a way to co-opt their audiences to promote your message. This is another great use of live-streaming to connect with your audience.

Tip: Don’t Forget Email Lists

As social media evolves and transitions into a more pay-for-play role, email lists will become more important. On social media platforms, the audience you accrue is owned by the platform and they will charge you to reach them. The only audience you own is the one you can reach on your own, such as an email list. The strongest marketing programs are ones that use all the resources available to a company – include email amplification in your programs to ensure you reach and activate your most loyal fans with your news and information.

Don’t Sleep on LinkedIn

When looking to drive sales via social channels, Edmond Jr. pleaded with viewers not to forget the power and reach of LinkedIn. LinkedIn offers access to high income decision makers, those with access to budgets. While Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are great for reaching audiences, LinkedIn offers a far more unique, targeted reach. People expect to be pitched on LinkedIn, making them the perfect prospects. A great way to get acquainted with the content on LinkedIn is to check out their marketing pages blog.LinkedIn.com and LinkedIntoBusiness.com.

Drive Social Advocacy Stephanie Tavares-Rance, Director of Digital Marketing, PR and Social Media at Boston Market

Content should tell a story, deliver information and solve a problem for the audience that’s being targeted. Don’t waste your time reiterating issues that potential clients might have without offering plausible solutions. This work doesn’t motivate them to act on your brand as a beneficial partner, a key component for increasing social advocacy.

Stephanie also offered some tips when crafting content for social platform distribution:

Know your platforms. Develop content and copy with a mobile-first point of view. Have a clear understanding of image dimensions required and maximum character count.

Vary your content. Content should change with each platform to best suit the platform’s capabilities. Image dimensions, character count, and understanding unique audiences to each platform will help tailor craft your messaging.

Use CTAs. Calls to action should move audiences to go beyond the view to action. Getting audiences to consume your content is the first step. Get them moving down the sales funnel by encouraging they take further, proactive steps in learning more about your brand or product.

No words needed. Video content should be able to tell a story without sound. Social platforms are often mobile platforms and engaged with on the go. Create video content that tells a story visually because you don’t know when audiences will or won’t be listening to audio, if they find themselves in public spaces.

Be interesting. Posts should engage the reader to share, comment and provide their own stories. Posts should be conversation starters, opening two-way dialogue.

Melissa Kimble, Founder of #blkcreatives and Senior Social Media Manager at Ebony

Melissa kicked off her portion of the webinar by posing several intriguing questions:

Are you resting on utilizing social media as the “face” of your business or are you using it as a tool to leverage your business?

Are you utilizing social media to create noise or to create necessary relationships? How can you create a more well-rounded brand offline?

Strategy starts with intention and the goal is to utilize social media platforms to maximize the visibility and impact of brand communications. With all of the noise that social media creates, people are hungry for more substantial, real life experiences. They are authentic and tangible and they crave likeminded content. These experiences include in-person events, face-to-face meetings or even phone calls and allow social media to supplement what the brand is creating offline.

Melissa explained that social media is a game that changes but brands need to keep doing what makes sense for their business and bottom line. The best way to approach social media, she suggested, was by staying focused on managing a few platforms well.

Creating a successful social media program starts with a deep understanding of your organization, your goals, your positive traits and your flaws. Understanding who you are, and who you want to be is the first step in building an online branding program that connects with intended audiences and ultimately drives to your business goals. Once you know what your organization stands for, you can select your platforms, create your brand voice and the content you need to translate your organization into a tangible brand online, and off.

Interested in learning more about using social media to amplify your news and content? Email us now!

There was a time when CBS, NBC and ABC dominated people’s attention, but in today’s world we find ourselves glued to the constantly updated timelines of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other unique and highly engaging platforms. For an organization, these platforms pose an immense opportunity to reach potential clients and customers to maintain an open line of communication, and amplify brand awareness. However, these digital platforms are rapidly changing and keeping up is difficult.

Many questions arise when determining how to maximize impact when sharing on the most popular social platforms. Business Wire’s director of global media relations, Raschanda Hall, had the opportunity to co-moderate a conversation with today’s leading communicators on what the current trends are in social media. The webinar, hosted by Bernadette A. Morris, president/CEO of Black PR Wire, offers listeners insight into the best practices for utilizing social media as a communications tool.

Increasing Video Impact with MORE by Lashanda Henry, SistaSense

Lashanda introduced listeners to the MORE strategy. An acronym, MORE stands for Master Originality Reach Engagement. MORE needs to be applied to brand storytelling by creating videos that present authentic messaging. Videos are today’s key piece of social content. Not only do they drive deeper connections with viewers, social networks are emphasizing video content, giving it broader reach than any other type of update.

There are multiple kinds of videos organizations can produce today to meet their goals. These include live streaming video, video conferencing and video podcasting. Which one is the right one for you?

Although incredibly popular, live streaming isn’t always applicable. It’s a great tool to use when on location at a conference, during an interview, or other situation where the audience can’t physically be present at the scheduled time of the event. Other situations might call for pre-recorded video, such as a video podcast, that is relevant at any time the viewer chooses to watch the footage. Organizations must look at their end goal first, then decide which video type will achieve it.

Lashanda’s tips for creating videos that drive sales and revenue:

Create a publishing schedule. This is key for budgeting purposes, but will also help you connect your videos to your sales goals

Video length will vary from 60 seconds to 60 minutes, depending on content and platform.

Being professional doesn’t’ cost a lot. Don’t prop your phone against a book! Use a tripod and other equipment to create production value for your videos

Stop including “inbox me” or paypal links in your video. Create easy short links that send people directly to your own sales page (not your homepage).

Include customer photos for testimonials. Visual storytelling allows viewers to connect with the story, deepening loyalty and ultimately driving more sales

Dr. Southerland provided social media tips and trends that can benefit organizations in the non-profit sector such as best practices for social media management on a small budget. The easiest tip to implement is to have a social media plan. Know what kind of content you want to be putting out and have a schedule so that content is created and published regularly. Scheduling content for automatic posting on platforms such as Facebook creates the opportunity to plan ahead and develop initiatives for the future.

Another great tip provided by Erica was to leverage your partnerships to increase the visibility of your content. Share content with other similar organizations and social media influencers who are talking about the same issues. Build reciprocal content sharing relationships with likeminded organizations to increase the overall impact of your messaging. Within the social world there is a community element that should be taken advantage of to maximize outreach efforts.

Top non-profit social media trends

Building your reputation: Utilizing executive blogs, such as posts on platforms like Medium, gets your voice out as a sharable asset.

Finding passionate audiences Hashtag activism is a great tool to tap into and engage large audiences.

Use humor. Smartly. Use humor but maintain cultural awareness and authenticity. Use facts and supplement those facts with a relevant joke.

Use data to create a smart “clap back.” Today’s top social commentary is filled with brands utilizing the “clap back” to make their point. As with all communication though, brands need to be careful of the potential “clap back.” There are a lot of opposing opinions and alienating potential clients or customers is counterproductive. The goal should always be what’s best for your organization, the bottom line.

Go big. Crowdsourcing and social fundraising are great ways to get potential and current donors excited.

Check back next week for Part II featuring insights from Alfred Edmond Jr., Senior VP/Executive Editor-at-Large of Black, Stephanie Tavares-Rance, Director of Digital Marketing, PR and Social Media at Boston Market Enterprise, and Melissa Kimble, Founder of #blkcreatives and Senior Social Media Manager at Ebony

The following is Part II of Business Wire's article providing a closer look at influencer marketing and how it can help you amplify your message. This section covers working with influencers, measuring your success, and maintaining the best communications for your brand. Access Part I to learn about why influencer marketing is important and how to identify the appropriate influencers for your message.

Working with influencers: Now what?

Once you have identified your influencers and established communications, it is time to determine if you want to work together.

First, you must build out your own program. What is your goal, what do you want influencers to do, how long do you want this program to last, what are the results you expect? Determine how you plan on compensating your influencers – can you afford to pay them? Do you have product that may be of interest, or can you provide significant visibility to their work. Once you know your goal and the influencers you need to achieve it, it is time to start the outreach.

Read the influencers’ websites in advance to see if they provide an overview of their influencer programming. This will tell you if they want to be paid, the type of reach they have and more. You may want to ask for a screen shot of their analytics to confirm their reach and activity claims. Next, craft and send a short outreach note asking if they are interested in new partners and what their programs consist of, their reach and average results and how they prefer to be compensated. Do not expect influencers to write for free.

Once the influencer has agreed to be a part of your influencer program, it is time to write and sign a contract. Do not forget this step! Contracts are very important because they outline the goal of the program, the length, the content expectations, content points that must be included in the output, the use of disclosure language such as #spon or #ad, distribution platforms, launch and completion dates, how the program will be measured and, of course, payment terms. How long do you want the content to live? Who has the rights to pull it down? You will want to make sure that your contract includes explicit language in case your influencer does not fulfill their side of the bargain, goes rogue or partners with a competitor while working with you.

Amplifying the influencers’ work

The last thing you must do when launching an influencer program is to design your content amplification support system. When you have outside parties creating content on your behalf, you must take your own steps to amplify this content even further. Create blog posts that point to the content, consider amplification via newswire services, use social channels to increase views and of course, don’t forget about contextual ad networks that can place your influencer content in ad blocks around the web.

Influencer content is exactly the kind of information an organization should promote. Don’t forget this final step!

Measuring the success of your influencer program

As we noted earlier, it is key to establish the goals of your influencer program well before you launch. This ensures you are able to establish and track the success of your program. Key questions to ask at the end of the program include:

Were deadlines met?

Were contract guidelines met?

Were FTC #spon/#ad disclosure guidelines met?

How high was the quality of content the influencer created?

What was the amount and quality of brand mentions/discussions?

What was the amount and quality of inbound traffic?

What was the amount and quality of leads?

What was the amount and quality of conversions?

How did this content make the audience feel about your content?

You may need to use technology to track these metrics. Work with your analytics team to create conversion pixels, UTM codes and more tracking links to ensure you capture as much data as possible within your programs.

But don’t just measure the success of your program. Monitor your influencer partners as well. Has their brand voice changed recently? Are they working with competitors? Are they using their platforms in an unexpected manner? Even if you use influencers for a short-term program, you are co-opting their brand. You must monitor all outputs to ensure they stay consistent to ensure the strongest connection possible between the influencer, their audience and your organization.

Costs associated with influencer marketing

As we noted earlier, paying for influencer marketing programming can be done with money, goods, visibility and access. To ensure there is no confusion, always use a contract to ensure both parties are held to the same clear standards.

The 2016 Linqia Influencer study shows that in 2017, costs for influencer programs have increased, averaging $50,000-$100,000 per influencer. The bigger your goal, the bigger your budget will need to be. If you cannot afford this kind of pricing, consider offering other options to your influencer such as:

Free product

Exposure via cross promotion

Compensation per post or content piece (flat rate)

CPE: Compensation per engagement (likes, shares, comments) per piece

CPC: Compensation per click by the consumer (link clicks)

CPA: Compensation per acquisition

There are many ways to compensate a blogger or influencer – and the choice you make will depend heavily on both your goals and the influencers you choose to work with.

Righting the ship: When influencers go rogue

Let’s face it. Even the best planned programming can go rogue. So what do you do when your influencer acts out in a manner that you didn’t expect? Can you do anything?

The answer is yes. Refer to your contract! If your partner isn’t meeting their end of the bargain, make sure you cover this in your contract. You want to spell out penalties for both parties when the contract isn’t met, including withholding of final payment or the deletion of created content. This is especially key in created content and in the use of FTC disclosures.

And if the influencer goes rogue and you determine that the content is no longer aligned with your brand, ask them to pull it down. Sometimes it is better to walk away vs. allowing your brand to be dragged down by a 3rd party.

Influencer marketing is a great way to increase the alignment between your brand and your targeted audiences, but it can come with pitfalls. Take a smart, organized approach to identifying, outreaching and aligning with relevant audiences to reduce potential issues and increase the opportunities of achieving your goal.

Want to learn more ways to increase the visibility of your organization’s content? These articles are great! Or email us with questions!

By Serena Ehrlich, Business Wire, Director of Social and Evolving Media

What good is a news release if you can’t track the results?

Hyperlinks in news releases are extremely important as they lead readers to your website to find additional information about your organization, product or service directly from your news release. Tracking this inbound traffic is a great way to see if your website content is aligning with your news content, ensuring you are meeting your business goals.

While Business Wire’s NewsTrak reports tell you how many times a tracked link is clicked, you can get much more useful information if you append your hyperlinks with a URL builder (sometimes called a UTM link).

What are URL builders?

Provided by your analytics program, URL builders or UTM links are lines of text you add to the end of a URL that allow the program to track the inbound traffic activity you are generating.

URL builders allow you to connect the dots between your reader and your website, tracking the impact of your communications program directly on your business goals.

When should you use a URL builder?

Don’t limit your data gathering to just your news releases. Create extensions for blog posts, social updates, advertising and other marketing collateral to keep your program’s activities separated. You can create new URL builders for every release and identify traffic by platform (one builder for all news releases vs. blog posts) or topic (one builder for all earnings vs. products). Email marketing services like Pardot allow you to track actions within distributed emails as well as landing pages, providing even more data you can use to tweak or update your program.

How to create a URL builder in under 5 minutes:

If your company has a team that oversees analytics, email them and ask for a URL builder you can add to the end of any URL. If you manage the analytics yourself, here are the instructions for creating a Google Analytics URL builder.

Enter the Campaign Name – this can be any name you want (e.g. “Q3,” “PR” “IR”)

Click “Submit”

Now you have an expanded URL that contains all the analytics tracking data.

Hyperlink this expanded URL within the Business Wire news release

Work with your analytics team to create a weekly report to send you the data these URLs are gathering so you can use this to correct your landing pages, conversion concepts and more

What are the limitations to a URL Builder?

Not all of your inbound traffic is going to come in to your website from your appended link. Some websites hosting your Business Wire news release will strip that appended data out. Also, some consumers still enjoy typing a company name into the search bar vs. clicking a link. It is best to view this data as a snapshot of all the traffic you are driving in, not a reflection of all the traffic and activity you have initiated.

Reading your URL Builder Data

Every time someone clicks on your appended hyperlink, you can now track their actions across your website, such as:

Is your landing page working? Many times news releases drive traffic to home pages without realizing the home page is not showcasing the information needed to convert the visitor to a customer. How long are visitors staying on your landing page and within your website? Are they leaving your page in under 30 seconds? Or are they going deeper? Make the changes needed to convert your inbound traffic.

Who are you reaching and activating? Are you reaching new audiences with your news releases, or are you decreasing the consideration time it takes for someone to buy your product?

Where is your audience? Are you activating the right markets? Are they on their smartphones or on a desktop?

What actions are they taking? Are your news release readers downloading your promoted content? Are they subscribing to your marketing channels?

Which news release topics are driving the most inbound activity?

Few departments generate as many discussions as your PR team. Capitalize on these discussions and the traffic they generate by tracking the activities your news has on your website. With URL builders, you can see if you are driving in the right traffic and if your audience is taking the actions you want. This will provide you the hard data needed to increase the ROI of future marketing efforts such as landing page revisions, keyword research needs and more.